#konkani

Ankvar Ravtelim - Rita Rose

70's/80's

A cascade of warmth and charm from India

Hi, I’m Anusha, and I belong to the Konkani community. I’m here to share our Konkani culture.We Konkani people speak Konkani, and there are many dialects, such as Goan Konkani, Karwar Konkani, and Karnataka Konkani. While most people call the state 'Goa,' we call it Goy or Goyia.Most people only know Goa for its parties and the beaches of North Goa, but for us Konkani people, a trip to Goa is often a pilgrimage to visit our Kuldevi (family deity) temples. When we tell people we are going to Goa, they often think, 'Ah, parties and beaches, right?' But that's not it! We go there for spiritual reasons and to connect with our roots, not just for enjoyment."

For Konkani people, Ganesha Chaturthi (often called Chovoth or Chavathi) is the biggest and most significant festival. Ganesha Chaturthi is our biggest festival. We traditionally perform Fugdi (a folk dance) and place a Kalasha (sacred pot) in front of Lord Ganesha. A unique tradition involves wives giving Vaina Narl (decorated coconuts with lamps) to their husbands.

The "Five Vaina Narl" ritual typically involves placing a lamp on top of a coconut. Historically, wives would visit their parents' home only once a year during this time. They would take two vaina narl for their parents' house, one for their husband (who is revered as a protector), and two for the Kuldevi (family deity) or God. After one and a half or two and a half days of worship, we perform the Visarjan, immersing our Ganesha idol into a Thalle (lake).

As Konkani people, we are Coastal Brahmins. While we are Brahmins, we also eat seafood. People often ask, "How can you be Brahmins and eat non-vegetarian food?" There is a story behind why we eat seafood: In the past, our Swamiji (spiritual leader) asked his shishyas (disciples) to bring him water. However, there happened to be a fish in the water they brought. Seeing this, the Swamiji became angry; he used his powers to make the fish vanish and then drank the water. Two of his disciples witnessed this scene and mistakenly thought, "Our Swamiji just consumed a fish, so we can also eat fish." This misunderstanding is the story behind why we began eating seafood.

and I'm a maratha living in karnataka and this is exactly why I don't speak marathi online or anywhere outside karnataka because my marathi is mixed with kannada words too. every marathi person in karnataka speaks like that because we're the descendents of marathi people who moved to karnataka at least a couple of centuries ago either as refugees or as landlords and workers during the era of expansion of the Maratha kingdom.

this one time I spoke to this one marathi guy from Pune in marathi and he laughed at my marathi. that was the end of me speaking in marathi with anyone outside karnataka

This side blog will be for learning Saxtti and Bardeskari Konkani which are dialects of a language spoken in the north and south of a tropical state called Goa in the west of India.

Due to portuguese colonisation as well as several attempts from India to supress the language and culture Konkani is a spoken language. While there may be ~2 million native speakers accoriding to a 2011 census, that number includes dialects belonging to different parts of India including Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujurat, Daman and Diu. So the number of native Goan Konkani speakers is far lower.

Konkani is continuing to die out due to lack of native speakers, migration and of course the attempts to get rid of it which also causes a lack of resources and structure. While I am starting with learning it as a spoken language I hope to progress enough and figure out how to read and write as well. I will have to learn about grammar, sentence structure etc so I will also post about that.

If you are also attempting to learn a sort of or fully dead/extinct language please interact so we can share this struggle together lol :))

Hello! Do you want to learn Konkani but don't know where to start? Then I've got the perfect resource list for you and you can find its link below! Let me know if you have any suggestions to improve it. Here is what the resource list contains;

"Handmade" resources on certain grammar concepts for easy understanding.

Resources on learning the script.

Websites to practice reading the script.

Documents to enhance your vocabulary.

Notes on Colloquial.

Music playlists

List of podcasts/audiobooks And a compiled + organized list of websites you can use to get hold of grammar!

Pickle, commonly known as Aachar in India is by far the most popular condiment which is served with almost every meal. Mango pickles are made with raw mangoes mixed with variety of Indian spices and no meal is complete without a spoonful of sweet, sour & spicy mouthwatering pickle.

Vashishti Konkani Mango Pickle is aromatic, flavourful, has antioxidant properties and helps boost immunity. At Vashishti, you get traditional & authentic pickle made from mangoes grown at homegrown farms.

I can't say how accurate it is - I'll have to ask my sister's mother-in-law for that.